Report of servicing network, time zone and UCI

ABSTRACT

The embodiments herein relate to a method in a mobility management node for handling information in a network. The node is associated with a wireless device being served by a serving network. The node obtains information about that at least one of the serving network and a time zone and a UCI, has been changed for the device, and information about that the change has not been transmitted to a SGW. When at least one of the serving network and the time zone and the UCI, has been changed, and information about the change has not been transmitted to the SGW, the node transmits the information about at least one of the changed serving network and time zone and UCI, to the SGW, enabling the SGW to forward this information to a PGW.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/426,020, filed Mar. 4, 2015, which is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 NationalPhase Entry Application from PCT/EP2012/069770, filed Oct. 5, 2012,designating the United States, the disclosures of each of which areincorporated herein in their entirety by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments herein relate generally to a mobility management node and amethod in the mobility management node. More particularly theembodiments herein relate to handling information in a communicationsnetwork.

BACKGROUND

In a typical communications network, also referred to as a wirelesscommunications system, wireless communications network, a cellularnetwork, a communications network or a communications system, a device,communicates via a Radio Access Network (RAN) to one or more CoreNetworks (CNs).

The device may be a device by which a subscriber may access servicesoffered by an operator's network and services outside operator's networkto which the operators radio access network and core network provideaccess, e.g. access to the Internet. The device may be any device,mobile or stationary, enabled to communicate over a radio channel in thecommunications network, for instance but not limited to e.g. userequipment, mobile phone, smart phone, sensors, meters, vehicles,household appliances, medical appliances, media players, cameras,Machine to Machine (M2M) device or any type of consumer electronic, forinstance but not limited to television, radio, lighting arrangements,tablet computer, laptop or Personal Computer (PC). The device may beportable, pocket storable, hand held, computer comprised, or vehiclemounted devices, enabled to communicate voice and/or data, via the radioaccess network, with another entity, such as another device or a server.

Devices are enabled to communicate wirelessly with the communicationsnetwork. The communication may be performed e.g. between two devices,between a devices and a regular telephone and/or between the devices anda server via the radio access network and possibly one or more corenetworks and possibly the Internet.

The communications network covers a geographical area which may bedivided into cell areas, and therefore also called a cellular network.Each cell area is served by a base station, e.g. a Radio Base Station(RBS), which sometimes may be referred to as e.g. evolved Node B (eNB),eNodeB, NodeB, B node, or Base Transceiver Station (BTS), depending onthe technology and terminology used. The base station communicates withthe device within range of the base station.

The device may be in different modes: idle mode or connected mode. Amode may also be referred to as a state. In idle mode, the device ise.g. not in a call, i.e. the device is not “doing anything” and does nothave any context activated. When the device is in connected mode, it isin e.g. a call, i.e. the device is “doing something”. Data istransmitted between the device and the network only when the device isin connected mode.

In addition to the device, the communications network comprises aplurality of nodes in the access network and the core network. Suchnodes may be for example a GGSN, SGSN, MME, PGW or SGW. GGSN is anabbreviation of Gateway GPRS Support Node and SGSN is an abbreviation ofServing GPRS Support Node, where GPRS is an abbreviation for Generalpacket radio service. MME is an abbreviation of Mobility ManagementEntity. PGW is an abbreviation of PDN Gateway, where PDN is anabbreviation of Packet Data Network. SGW is an abbreviation of ServingGateway. The GGSN is a network gateway node responsible for theinterworking between the GPRS core network and external packet switchednetworks, for example the Internet. The GGSN has Internet Protocol (IP)on both sides. Similarly, the PGW is a network gateway node responsiblefor the interworking between the Long Term Evolution (LTE) core networkand external packet switched networks, for example the Internet.

The communications network comprises a mobility management node whichmay be a SGSN for 2G GSM and 3G UMTS access and MME for LTE access. TheSGSN may further be classified to S4-SGSN (based on GTPv2) and Gn/GpSGSN (based on GTPv1). The SGSN is a network node responsible for thedelivery of data packets from and to the devices within its geographicalservice area. The SGSN provides control function and manages states,paging, authentication, mobility, roaming, and other bearer managementfunctions. The SGSN is an access point for the device to the packetnetwork. The SGSN understands radio access on one side and IP on theother side. The SGSN may be a S4-SGSN which is a SGSN which supports theS4 interface. The MME is a control node for the access network. The SGSNand the MME may be implemented in one physical node, and then it may bereferred to as SGSN/MME. The SGSN and the MME may also be separatephysical nodes. The term mobility management node is used in thefollowing text in order to refer to the S4-SGSN, MME and the combinedSGSN/MME.

As already indicated above, the PGW is a node which providesconnectivity from the device to external packet data networks by beingthe point of exit and entry of traffic for the device. The SGW is a nodewhich routes and forwards user data packets, while also acting as themobility anchor for the user plane during inter-eNodeB handovers and asthe anchor for mobility between Long Term Evolution (LTE) and otherThird Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) technologies.

A Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) is a network providing land mobilecommunications services to the public. The PLMN provides communicationpossibilities for devices. Each operator providing mobile services mayhave its own PLMN. Access to PLMN services is achieved by means of anair interface involving communications between devices. The PLMN isconnected to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) in order toroute calls. According to the 3GPP, a PLMN area is the geographical areain which a PLMN provides communication services to devices. In generalthe PLMN is limited by the borders of a country. Depending on nationalregulations there may be more than one PLMN per country.

The device may be located in and served by one PLMN and changes toanother PLMN, i.e. it changes Serving Network (SN), for example when thedevice moves from one country to another country. PLMN change is one ofSGW-CDR and PGW-CDR closure triggers and serving network, i.e. ServingNode PLMN Identifier, which indicates the serving node PLMN, MobileCountry Code (MCC) and Mobile Network Code (MNC), used during thisrecord is an essential field in SGW-CDR and PGW-CDR. CDR, short forCharging Data Record, is a formatted collection of information about achargeable event for use in billing and accounting. Examples of suchchargeable event are time of call setup, duration of the call, amount ofdata transferred, etc. Both the MCC and the MNC are parts of theInternational Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). CDRs may be classifiedwith two parameters:

-   -   The node at which they are generated: GGSN, SGSN, PGW, SGW, etc.    -   The type of service or activity they are charging: Multimedia        Broadcast Multicast Services (MBMS), Mobility, Location request        etc.

A serving network may be defined as a network that the device hasregistered with. The serving network may be identified with a servingnetwork ID. The serving network may also be referred to as the servingPLMN. A device may register with more than one network at a time. Adevice may change from being served by a source serving network to beingserved by a target serving network, and consequently being registeredwith the same mobility management node or changing from being registeredwith a source mobility management node to a target mobility managementnode. In the following, the terms source is associated with a previouslocation of the device and the term target is associated with a currentor future location of the device. The term old may be used instead ofsource and the term new may be used instead of target.

PLMN information is also important for Policy and Charging Control(PCC). To keep the SGW and PGW updated with the latest information aboutthe serving network without side-effect, e.g., too much signaling,duplicated reporting caused, it is critical for a mobility managementnode to report information about the serving network precisely andsmartly.

Two kinds of interfaces need to be updated to form a comprehensivesolution for reporting information about the serving network.

Serving Network Change Reporting without Change of Mobility ManagementNode (Non-Mobility)

In the 3GPP specification, a delayed reporting mechanism is adopted fora device in idle mode whose procedure for intra-mobility management nodeserving network change does not inherently comprise sending, from theserving mobility management node, a Modify Bearer Request (MBR) messageto the SGW and with the assumption that a service request procedure,where one modify bearer request message for each Packet Data Network(PDN) is mandatory, will be initiated when the device enters connectedmode.

Thus, a modify bearer request during a service request will anyway carrya serving network Information Element (IE) to the PGW via the SGW. Theserving network IE is the identification of the serving network. Thisdelayed reporting mechanism tends to avoid extra signaling to gateways.However, the service request procedure may not always happen when thedevice goes from idle to connected mode for some scenarios. The servicerequest mentioned above is a procedure used by the device or the networkto which there is uplink or downlink data to send, in order to establishradio access bearer.

In this non-mobility procedure, the mobility management node is aS4-SGSN or a combined SGSN/MME.

Intra-mobility management node serving network change, as mentionedabove, refers to the case when the device changes serving network whilestill being connected to the same mobility management node, i.e. withoutchanging mobility management node. This may also be referred to as anon-mobility procedure, since there is no change of mobility managementnode.

However, the service request procedure will not always happen when thedevice changes from idle mode to connected mode for some embodiments.

The 3GPP has agreed that the mobility management node shall include theserving network IE in the modify bearer request transmitted to the SGWonly when the serving network has changed.

Meanwhile, the 3GPP SA2 has agreed that the serving PLMN changereporting may be delayed when the device is in ECM_IDLE state, i.e. incase the serving PLMN changes during intra-Tracking Area Update (TAU)with no user plane setup, the MME may report the changed serving PLMN tothe SGW in the next Service Request procedure. ECM is short for Evolvedpacket system (EPS) Connection Management and ECM_IDLE is a statedescribing signaling connectivity between the device and the EvolvedPacket Core (EPC). The device is in ECM_IDLE state when there is no NonAccess Stratum (NAS) signaling connection between the device and thenetwork. The device in ECM_IDLE state performs cell selection orreselection and PLMN selection.

In case of a tracking area update without the change of mobilitymanagement node, a change of serving network, Time Zone (TZ) or User CSGInformation (UCI) is signaled in the next service request. This delayedreporting for an idle device applicable for a S4-SGSN, which is a SGSNsupporting the S4 interface. The device initiated service request whenIdle-mode Signaling Reduction (ISR) is not active, but the servingnetwork has changed during previous mobility procedures, i.e.intra-mobility management node tracking area update/Routing Area Update(RAU) and the change has not been reported to the PGW yet.

CSG is short for Closed Subscriber Group. According to the 3GPP a closedsubscriber group identifies subscribers of an operator who are permittedto access one or more cells of the PLMN but which have restrictedaccess. The CSG may be identified with a unique identifier called CSGIdentity (CSG ID), which is used by the device to facilitate access forauthorized members of the CSG. The CSG ID is comprised in UCI. The UCIfurther comprises access mode and CSG membership indication. A CSGsubscriber server may stores CSG subscription data for roaming devices.

The reporting principle in the 3GPP is clear that though the reportingof the serving network is mandatory, the potential signaling floodingtowards the SGW and/or the PGW should be avoided, and it is notnecessary to report the serving network change immediately when thedevice is in idle mode. However, with the existing approach forreporting the change of the serving network for idle devices, the SGWand/or the PGW will fail to get the latest information about the servingnetwork in the following scenarios:

-   -   In Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), after the        device performs intra-routing area update with serving network        changes and returns to idle: In the subsequent service request,        the S4-SGSN may selectively setup the Radio Access Bearer (RAB)        for those bearer contexts having payload pending to save radio        resource. Therefore, the serving network change is only reported        to those PDN connections for which the S4-SGSN has setup a radio        access bearer.    -   In WCDMA, after the device performs intra-routing area update        with the serving network changes and returns to idle: The PGW        initiates a bearer create or bearer update or bearer delete        operation, and the S4-SGSN may not setup user plane for other        bearers. Thus, there will be no modify bearer request message        within the procedure. After the Bearer create/update/delete, the        SGW/PGW is not informed about the latest serving network.    -   In WCDMA, when a direct tunnel is not used: There will be no        modify bearer request in the service request procedure. Thus,        the subsequent service request may not be relied on to report        the serving network change.    -   In Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM): There is no        Service Request procedure, i.e. there is no additional modify        bearer request message to be sent to the SGW when the device        turns from idle to ready state according to the existing        specification.

The direct tunnel mentioned above, is a feature that allows the mobilitymanagement node to establish a direct user plane tunnel between theradio access network, e.g. a Radio Network Controller (RNC) and the SGW.

Serving Network Change Reporting with Change of Mobility Management Node(Mobility)

3GPP states that, the serving network IE should be comprised in theforward relocation request message with the purpose of providingnecessary information to the target mobility management node to judgewhen there is a change of serving network. In case of inter-mobilitymanagement node idle mobility, e.g. tracking area update/routing areaupdate, the target mobility management node may compare the PLMN in aGlobally Unique Temporary ID (GUTI)/old Routing Area Identification(RAI) with the PLMN in the current Tracking Area Identity (TAI)/RAI. TheTAI is the identity of the tracking area and the RAI is the identity ofthe routing area.

In the mobility procedure, the mobility management node is a S4-SGSN, astandalone MME or a combined SGSN/MME.

As mentioned above, inter-mobility management node serving networkchange refers to the case when the device changes serving network andalso changes from being connected to a source mobility management nodeto a target mobility management node. This may also be referred to as amobility procedure, since there is a change of mobility management node.

This information is not sufficient in order for the target mobilitymanagement node to know whether the latest information about the servingnetwork has been reported to the gateway, i.e. SGW and PGW, or not.

During inter-mobility management node idle mobility, e.g. tracking areaupdate/routing area update, the target mobility management node knowsthe PLMN used in source MME via GUTI, in the source mobility managementnode via/old RAI with the PLMN in the current TAI/RAI. Duringinter-mobility management node handover, the source mobility managementnode includes the serving network IE in a forward relocation requestmessage to assist the target mobility management node to check whenthere is a serving network change which is the precondition of servingnetwork reporting.

The target mobility management node compares the source serving networkand target/current serving network, and takes further actionaccordingly: When the serving network has changed, or when the mobilitymanagement node has not received any source serving network informationfrom the source mobility management node, the mobility management nodeincludes the new serving network IE in this message, i.e. the modifybearer request.

However, the target mobility management node does not have the knowledgewhether the latest serving network information has been reported to theSGW or not, e.g. when the serving network of the device does not change,there is still possibility that the source mobility management node(e.g. SGSN/MME) has not reported information about the serving networkto the SGW due to the “delayed reporting mechanism”.

Admittedly, as the existing 3GPP described, the target mobilitymanagement node will surely report the new serving network when itdetects the serving network changes during the inter-mobility managementnode mobility without a SGW relocated procedure. But the target mobilitymanagement node will not report the current serving network when theserving network has not changed according to the condition specified inthe current 3GPP specification. Based only on the received servingnetwork IE the target mobility management node will not be able todecide whether to report the information about the serving network ornot in the case of the serving network is not changed due to lack of thereport status information which indicates when the source mobilitymanagement node has already reported the serving network or not to theSGW, as it is possible that the source mobility management node may havereported or have not reported it yet due to “Delay Reporting” mechanismfor an idle device.

With this fact of lacking status report information, the target mobilitymanagement node will be in a dilemma of reporting or not for thisunchanged serving network for those moving in devices. When the servingnetwork is reported anyway, it may cause duplicated reporting thusunnecessary signalling load will ensue due to the speculation that theserving network unchanged mobility might be the most likely cases amongall inter-mobility management node mobility cases. When the servingnetwork has not been reported, then the serving network in the SGW/PGWmay not be updated, consequently some problems will be caused, e.g.,wrong information in the SGW-CDR and PGW-CDR.

Report of Time Zone and UCI

The aforementioned problem for reporting the serving network exists alsofor the report of Time Zone (TZ) and UCI. The time zone and the UCI arerelated to the device, i.e. the time zone in which the device is locatedand the UCI is related to the closed subscriber group to which thedevice belongs.

SUMMARY

An objective of embodiments herein is therefore to obviate at least oneof the above disadvantages and to provide enhanced reporting of at leastone of the serving network and time zone and UCI.

According to a first aspect, the object is achieved by a method in amobility management node for handling information in a communicationsnetwork. The mobility management node is associated with a wirelessdevice being served by a serving network. The mobility management nodeobtains information about that at least one of the serving network or atime zone or a UCI has been changed for the wireless device, andinformation about that the change has not been transmitted to a SGW 105associated with the mobility management node. When at least one of theserving network and the time zone and the UCI, has been changed for thewireless device, and information about the change has not beentransmitted to the SGW, the mobility management node transmits theinformation about at least one of the changed serving network and timezone and UCI to the SGW, enabling the SGW to forward this information toa PGW.

According to a second aspect, the object is achieved by a mobilitymanagement node for handling information in a communications network.The mobility management node is configured to be associated with awireless device being served by a serving network. The mobilitymanagement node comprises an obtaining unit which is configured toobtain information about that at least one of the serving network or atime zone or a UCI has been changed for the wireless device, andinformation about that the change has not been transmitted to a SGWassociated with the mobility management. The mobility management nodecomprises a transmitter which is configured to, when at least one of theserving network and the time zone and the UCI has been changed for thewireless device, and when information about the change has not beentransmitted to the SGW transmit the information about at least one ofthe changed serving network and time zone and UCI, to the SGW, enablingthe SGW to forward this information to a PGW.

Since the mobility management node transmits the information about thechanges in at least one of serving network and time zone and UCI to theSGW only when the information has changed and when it has not previouslybeen reported, the reporting is performed with the least additionalsignaling and thus the reporting of at least one of serving network andtime zone and UCI is enhanced.

Embodiments herein afford many advantages, of which a non-exhaustivelist of examples follows:

The embodiments herein solve a critical issue of reporting informationabout at least one of serving network and time zone and UCI in the EPCnetwork environment with minimum signalling impact, e.g. additionalS5/S8 signalling to report a serving network change is avoided.Meanwhile, the very purpose of strengthening the target mobilitymanagement nodes serving network reporting capability, i.e., the servingnetwork is only reported when it changes, is fulfilled by delivering areport status together with a serving network to the target mobilitymanagement node. Note that S5/S8 is the interface between the SGW andthe PGW. S8 is used when the device roams between different operators,while S5 is network internal.

The embodiments herein provide an advantage of saving radio resources,i.e. covered by the scenario that the SGSN selectively sets up a radioaccess bearer for an EPS bearer with a payload pending in order to becarried by the EPS bearer to the device.

Another advantage of the embodiments herein is that 3GPP specificationsare improved and some GPRS Tunneling Protocol version 2 (GTPv2) messagesconveyed in these interfaces are enhanced: S11 (MME-SGW), S4(S4-SGSN-SGW), S16 (S4-SGSN-S4-SGSN), S10 (MME-MME), S3 (SGSN-MME),S5/S8 (SGW-PGW).

Furthermore, an advantage of the embodiments herein is that they savethe required modify bearer signaling in order to report the change of atleast one of serving network and time zone and UCI. When there is nodedicated signaling triggered by the PGW, additional modify bearerrequest messages per PDN connection to report the change of at least oneof the serving network and time zone and UCI are anyway needed, andtherefore utilized.

The embodiments herein are not limited to the features and advantagesmentioned above. A person skilled in the art will recognize additionalfeatures and advantages upon reading the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments herein will now be further described in more detail inthe following detailed description by reference to the appended drawingsillustrating the embodiments and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of acommunications network.

FIG. 2 is a signaling diagram illustrating embodiments of a method inthe communications network.

FIG. 3 is a signaling diagram illustrating embodiments of a non-mobilityprocedure in a communications network.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of amobility procedure in a communications network.

FIG. 5 is a signaling diagram illustrating embodiments of a mobilityprocedure in a communications network.

FIG. 6 is a signaling diagram illustrating embodiments of a mobilityprocedure in a communications network.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating embodiments of a method in amobility management node.

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of amobility management node.

The drawings are not necessarily to scale and the dimensions of certainfeatures may have been exaggerated for the sake of clarity. Emphasis isinstead placed upon illustrating the principle of the embodimentsherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments herein enhance the report of at least one of the servingnetwork and time zone and UCI, so that the SGW and the PGW has thelatest information about at least one of serving network and time zoneand UCI in time with the least additional signaling, in both a mobilityscenario and a non-mobility scenario. The mobility management node needssufficient information in order to know whether the latest informationabout the at least one of the serving network and time zone and UCI hasbeen reported to the SGW and the PGW or not.

The embodiments herein relate to the S4/S11 and/or the S5/S8 interfacesand/or to the S10/S3/S16 interfaces respectively, and with theimprovements, the wholesome serving network and/or time zone and/or UCIreport mechanism is obtained. The S4 is the interface between the SGSNand the SGW. The S11 is the interface between the MME and the SGW. S5 isthe interface between the SGW and the PGW and S11 is the interfacebetween the MME and the SGW. S10 is the interface between multiple MMEs.S3 is the interface between the SGSN and the MME, and S16 is theinterface between multiple SGSNs.

FIG. 1 depicts a communications network 100 in which embodimentsdescribed herein may be implemented. The communications network 100 mayin some embodiments apply to one or more radio access technologies suchas for example LTE, LTE Advanced, WCDMA, GSM, or any other 3GPP radioaccess technology, or other radio access technologies such as e.g.Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN).

The communications network 100 comprises a mobility management node 101which is associated with a wireless device 103. The wireless device 103is present in and served by a serving network. The serving network has aunique ID, which is referred to as SN ID in some of the drawings. Theserving network may comprise multiple routing areas or tracking areas.The mobility management node may be a MME, a combined SGSN/MME or aS4-SGSN.

The wireless device 103 may be a device by which a subscriber may accessservices offered by an operator's network and services outsideoperator's network to which the operators radio access network and corenetwork provide access, e.g. access to the Internet. The wireless device103 may be any device, mobile or stationary, enabled to communicate overa radio channel in the communications network, for instance but notlimited to e.g. user equipment, mobile phone, smart phone, sensors,meters, vehicles, household appliances, medical appliances, mediaplayers, cameras, Machine to Machine (M2M) device or any type ofconsumer electronic, for instance but not limited to television, radio,lighting arrangements, tablet computer, laptop or Personal Computer(PC). The wireless device 103 may be portable, pocket storable, handheld, computer comprised, or vehicle mounted devices, enabled tocommunicate voice and/or data, via the radio access network, withanother entity, such as another device or a server.

The wireless device 103 is enabled to communicate wirelessly with thecommunications network 100. The communication may be performed e.g.between two wireless devices, between the wireless devices 103 and aserver via the radio access network and possibly one or more corenetworks and possibly the Internet.

The mobility management node 101 is connected to a SGW 105. When themobility management node 101 is a S4-SGSN, the SGSN 101 has a S4interface towards the SGW 105, and thereby referred to as a S4-SGSN.When the mobility management node 101 is a combined SGSN/MME, theinterface between the combined SGSN/MME and the SGW 105 is the S4/S11interface. When the mobility management node 101 is a MME, the interfacebetween the MME and the SGW 105 is S11 interface.

The SGW 105 is connected to a PGW 108. When the wireless device 103 isaccessing multiple PDNs, there may be more than one PGW 108 for thatwireless device 103, but only one PGW 108 is shown here for the sake ofsimplicity.

FIG. 2 is a signaling diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method forhandling information in the communications network 100, regardlesswhether there is a mobility or non-mobility associated with the mobilitymanagement node. The embodiments herein provide solutions for themobility management node 101 to fulfill the serving network and/or timezone and/or UCI reporting task, especially when shared network is used.The method comprises the following steps, which steps may be performedin any suitable order:

Step 201

The mobility management node 101 checks whether at least one of thefollowing three parameters has changed: the serving network and/or timezone and/or UCI. When at least one of the serving network and time zoneand UCI has not changed, the mobility management node 101 does not takeany action. When at least one of the serving network and time zone andUCI has changed, the method proceeds to step 202.

Step 202

When the mobility management node 101 determined in step 201 that atleast one of the serving network and time zone and UCI has changed, themobility management node 101 checks whether the information about thechange has been transmitted to the SGW 105 or not. When the informationhas been transmitted to the SGW 105, the mobility management node 101does not take any action. When the information has not been transmittedto the SGW 105, the method proceeds to step 203.

Step 203

When at least one of the serving network and time zone and UCI haschanged and has not previously been transmitted to the SGW 105, themobility management node 101 transmits the information about the changedserving network and/or time zone and/or UCI to the SGW 105.

Step 204

When the SGW 105 has received the information about the change, itforwards the information to the PGW 108. The PGW 108 uses theinformation for e.g. the CDR and reports it to the PCRF for the furtherpolicy decision, e.g. a serving network change leads different QoS; UCIchange leads different charging rate and so on.

The mobility procedure and the non-mobility procedure will now bedescribed, starting with the non-mobility procedure.

Serving Network/Time Zone/UCI Reporting without Change of MobilityManagement Node Change (Non-Mobility)

In this non-mobility procedure, the mobility management node 101 is aS4-SGSN or a combined SGSN/MME, and the S4-SGSN will be used as anexample in the following description of the non-mobility. For WCDMAaccess, the S4-SGSN 101 checks direct tunnel conditions each time aPacket Data Protocol (PDP) context is activated, whether the wirelessdevice 103 is activated or by means of an Inter-SGSN routing areaupdate, an Inter SGSN Inter-Radio Access Technology (IRAT) PacketSwitched (PS) handover from GSM to WCDMA systems, or an Inter-SGSNserving radio network subsystem relocation. The direct tunnel allowsdata traffic to bypass the S4-SGSN 101, significantly increasing networkcapacity and allowing the S4-SGSN 101 to function as an MME signalingserver. When a direct tunnel is not used, either in the intra-routingarea update procedure, or in the subsequent device initiated servicerequest procedure, an additional modify bearer request is needed toreport at least one of the serving network and time zone and UCIchanges.

For GSM access, the S4-SGSN 101 sends an additional modify bearerrequest to report at least one of the serving network and time zone andUCI changes due to no service request in 2G.

At least one of the serving network and time zone and UCI IEs areintroduced in at least one of a create bearer response and update bearerresponse and delete bearer response messages to piggyback the latestserving network to the SGW 105 when the change is not reported yet.

The S4-SGSN 101 will remember each PDN connection report status. TheS4-SGSN 101 only comprises the changed serving network in the modifybearer request messages with for those PDN connections which changes ofat least one of serving network and time zone and UCI have not bereported yet.

The non-mobility procedure with the S4-SGSN 101 solution to piggyback atleast one of the serving network and time zone and UCI is illustrated inthe signaling diagram in FIG. 3, which improves the S4/S11 and/or S5/S8interface. In the non-mobility procedure exemplified in FIG. 3, theinformation about the time zone is already known by the SGW 105. In FIG.3, the embodiment uses the S4-SGSN 101 as an example to fulfill the taskof reporting at least one of the serving network and UCI via the S4/S11and/or the S5/S8 interface independent from service request procedure,however a combined SGSN/MME may also be used. Instead, at least one ofthe serving network and UCI are piggybacked in the create bearerresponse message, step 312 in FIG. 3. Similarly, at least one of theserving network and UCI may be piggybacked to the SGW 105 in the updatebearer response or the delete bearer response message (not shown in FIG.3). This “Piggyback” solution for delivering at least one of the servingnetwork and UCI is also applicable for the MME.

This “piggyback” solution saves the required modify bearer signaling toreport the change of at least one of the serving network and UCI. Whenthere is no dedicated signaling triggered by the PGW 108, additionalmodify bearer request messages which per PDN connection to report thechange of at least one of the serving network and UCI are anyway needed.In the example embodiment in FIG. 3, the wireless device 103 hasestablished two PDN connections, one towards the PGW1 108 a and onetowards the PGW2 108 b.

The method for reporting of at least one of the serving network and UCIchange without any S4-SGSN 101 change comprises the following steps,which steps may be performed in any suitable order:

Step 301

The wireless device 103 transmits a routing area update (RAU) requestmessage to the S4-SGSN 101. The serving network of the wireless device103 changes during intra-routing area update.

Step 302

The S4-SGSN 101 transmits a routing area update (RAU) accept messageback to the wireless device 103.

Step 303

The wireless device 103 transmits a routing area update (RAU) completemessage to the S4-SGSN 101.

Step 304

The lu interface is released. The lu interface is an external interfacethat connects a Radio Network Controller (RNC) 110 to the S4-SGSN 101for packet switched traffic.

Step 305

The PGW1 108 a transmits a create hearer request to the SGW 105.

Step 306

The SGW 105 forwards the create bearer request to the S4-SGSN 101.

Step 307

The S4-SGSN 101 transmits a paging message to the wireless device 103via the RNC 110.

Step 308

The wireless device 103 transmits a service request to the S4-SGSN 101

Step 309

An activate secondary PDP context request and response is transmittedbetween the S4-SGSN 101 and the wireless device 103.

Step 310

Messages related to the radio access bearer assignment are transmittedbetween the S4-SGSN 101 and the wireless device 103 in order toestablish one or more radio access bearers for the wireless device 103and/or to modify or release already existing radio access bearers.

Step 311

The S4-SGSN 101 transmits a create bearer response, as a response to therequest transmitted in step 306, to the SGW 105, preferably via the S4interface. The create 25 bearer response comprises information about atleast one of the changed serving network and UCI, i.e. the informationabout the change is piggybacked on the create bearer response. The timezone is already known, and is therefore not necessarily transmitted inthe non-mobility procedure.

Step 312

The SGW 105 forwards the create bearer response, comprising informationabout the changed serving network and/or UCI, to the PGW1 108 a, thusPGW1 108 a has the latest information about at least one of the servingnetwork and UCI in time.

Step 313

The lu interface between the wireless device 103 and the S4-SGSN 101 isreleased.

Step 314

The wireless device 103 transmits a service request to the S4-SGSN 101.

Step 315

The S4-SGSN 101 transmits a modify bearer request associated with PGW2108 b to the SGW 105, preferably via the S4 interface. The modify bearerrequest comprises information about the changed serving network and/orUCI, i.e. the information about the change is piggybacked on the modifybearer request.

The S4-SGSN needs to send a modify bearer request message for both thePGW1 108 a and the PGW2 108 b, however information about the change ofat least one of the serving network and UCI is not comprised in themodify bearer request for the PGW1, thus S5/S8 signaling is reduced.

Step 316

The SOW 105 forwards the modify bearer request comprising theinformation about the changed serving network and/or UCI to the PGW2 108b.

Step 317

The PGW2 108 b transmits a modify bearer response to the SGW 105.

Step 318

The SGW 105 forwards the modify bearer response to the S4-SGSN 101.

Step 319

The payload data is transmitted between the wireless device 103 and thePGW2 108 b.

The non-mobility procedure was described above, and the mobilityprocedure will now be described below.

Serving Network/Time Zone/UCI Reporting with Change of MobilityManagement Node (Mobility)

FIG. 4 depicts an embodiment of the communications network 100 where thewireless device 103 changes from being served by a source servingnetwork 100 s to being served by a target serving network 100 t, alsoreferred to as the mobility procedure.

The communications network 100 comprises a source mobility managementnode 101 s which is associated with the wireless device 103. Thewireless device 103 is present in and served by the source servingnetwork 100 s. The wireless device 103 moves from the source servingnetwork 100 s to the target serving network 100 t, and changes frombeing associated with the source mobility management node 101 s to beingassociated with a target mobility management node 101 t. In the mobilityprocedure exemplified in FIG. 4, the source mobility management node 101s may be a source S4-SGSN or a combined source SGSN/MME or a source MME,and the target mobility management node 101 t may be a target S4-SGSN ora combined target SGSN/MME or a target MME. The target mobilitymanagement node 101 t may transmit a message request to the sourcemobility management node 101 s, and the source mobility management node101 s may transmit a message response back go the target mobilitymanagement node 101 t.

The source serving network 100 s and the target serving network 100 tare identified with the same SN ID1. When the wireless device 103 is inthe source serving network 100 s or in the target serving network 100 t,it is located in the time zone 1 and comprised in the UCI with the CSGID1.

The source mobility management node 101 s and the target mobilitymanagement node 101 t are connected to the same SGW 105. When the sourcemobility management node 101 s and the target mobility management node101 t are S4-SGSNs, the source mobility management node 101 s and thetarget mobility management node 101 t each has a S4 interface towardsthe SGW 105. When the source mobility management node 101 s and thetarget mobility management node 101 t are MMEs or combined SGSN/MMEs,the interface between each of the source mobility management node 101 sand the target mobility management node 101 t on one hand and the SGW105 on the other hand is the S11 interface. The target mobilitymanagement node 101 t may transmit a modify bearer request message, acreate bearer response, a delete bearer response or an update bearerresponse to the SGW 105. The source mobility management node 101 s maytransmit a modify bearer request message to the SGW 105.

The SGW 105 is connected to the PGW 108 with the S5/S8 interface. Asmentioned earlier, when the wireless device 103 is accessing multiplePDNs, there may be more than one PGW 108 for that wireless device 103,but only one PGW 108 is shown here for the sake of simplicity.

The messages transmitted between the network nodes illustrated in FIG. 4will be described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

In one embodiment, an indication, e.g. in the form of an informationelement (IE), may indicate when there is any serving network and/or timezone and/or UCI changes that has not been reported yet. The indicationmay be called “Change Reported Flag” on PDN connection basis. Inaddition, in the existing GTPv2 specification, the current stored UCI inthe source mobility management node 101 s is preferably comprised in thecontext response message.

In another embodiment, the target mobility management node 101 t mayalways provide at least one of the serving network and/or time zone andUCI indications in the Modify Bearer Request message as part of intermobility management node mobility procedure, instead of comparing thetarget/current serving network 100 t with the source serving network 100s. The SGW 105 may check at least one of the serving network and timezone and UCI indications received from the target mobility managementnode 101 t. Only when the value of at least one of the serving networkand time zone and/or UCI indications changes, the SGW 105 will forwardat least one of the serving network and time zone and UCI indications tothe PGW 108. Thus there will be no redundant signaling on the S5/S8interface.

FIG. 5 illustrates embodiments of inter-mobility management nodemobility, which improves the S10/S3/S16 interfaces. In FIG. 5, themobility management node is exemplified with a combined SGSN/MME, butthe mobility management node may also be a S4-SGSN or an individual MME.A precondition for the embodiments illustrated in FIG. 5 is that thesource mobility management node 101 s supports the followingfunctionality:

-   -   In the case of inter-mobility management node mobility, the        source mobility management node 101 s sets the report status per        PDN connection to the target SGSN/MME 101 t.    -   The target SGSN/MME 101 t obtains information about at least one        of the source serving network and time zone and UCI and compares        it with at least one of the current target serving network and        current time zone and current UCI for the wireless device 103.        When they are different, the existing handling defined in 3GPP        is kept to report at least one of the new serving network and        time zone and UCI to the SGW 105.

When at least one of the serving network and time zone and UCI are notchanged, the target SGSN/MME 101 t needs to further check theindications to decide when at least one of the serving network and/ortime zone and UCI will be reported or not.

When the indication, e.g. the “Change Reported Flag”, indicates that thechange was already reported to the SGW 105 in the source side, thetarget SGSN/MME 101 t does not need to report it any more until at leastone of the serving network and time zone and UCI changes again.

When the indication indicates that it was not reported in the sourceside, the target SGSN/MME 101 t comprises at least one of the newserving network and/or time zone and/or UCI into the modify bearerrequest to inform the SGW 105 about at least one of the latest servingnetwork and time zone and UCI.

The indication may be comprised in the forward relocation requestmessage and/or the context response message. The indication may bedefined as a bitmap style IE, where each bit corresponds to the reportstatus for at least one of the serving network and time zone and UCI.Since the changes of at least one of the serving network and time zoneand UCI are independent. FIG. 5 depicting the report of at least one ofserving network and time zone and UCI during idle mode mobilityprocedure, e.g. routing area update/tracking area update comprises thefollowing steps, which steps may be performed in any suitable order:

Step 501

When the wireless device 103 has detected that is has moved from thesource serving network 100 s to the target serving network 100 t, thewireless device 103 transmits a routing area (RAU) update or a trackingarea (TAU) update request to the target SGSN/MME 101 t.

Step 502

The target SGSN/MME 101 t transmits a context request to the sourceSGSN/MME 101 s.

Step 503

The source SGSN/MME 101 s transmits a context response message to thetarget SGSN/MME 101 t. The context response message comprises theindication, e.g. a Change Reported Flag.

Step 504

The target SGSN/MME 101 t transmits a context acknowledgement to thesource SGSN/MME 101 s.

Step 505

The target SGSN/MME 101 t transmits a modify bearer request to the SGW105, preferably via the S4 or the S11 interface. The modify bearerrequest comprises the information about at least one of the servingnetwork and/or time zone and/or UCI. The information about at least oneof the serving network and/or time zone and/or UCI is comprised in themodify bearer request in the following cases:

-   -   When at least one of the serving network and time zone and UCI        has changed.    -   When at least one of the serving network and time zone and UCI        has not changed but it was not reported by the source side.

Step 506

The SGW 105 forwards the modify bearer request to the PGW 108. Theforwarded modify bearer request comprises the information about at leastone of the serving network and time zone and UCI. This information iscomprised in the modify bearer request when at least one of the servingnetwork and time zone and UCI was received by the SGW 105 in step 505.The modify bearer request is transmitted via the S5/S8 interface, andthe SGW 105 closes the SGW-CDR as a result.

Step 507

The PGW 108 transmits a modify bearer response to the SGW 105.

Step 508

The SGW 105 forwards the modify bearer response to the target SGSN/MME101 t.

Step 509

The target SGSN/MME 101 t transmits information to a Home LocationRegister (HLR) 120 to update/insert the location of the wireless device103 now being associated with the target SGSN/MME 101 t. The HLR 120 isa database comprising details of each wireless device 103.

Step 510

The source SGSN/MME 101 s transmits information to the HLR 120 to cancelthe previous location of the wireless device 103 associated with thesource SGSN/MME 101 s.

Step 511

The target SGSN/MME 101 t transmits a routing area update or a trackingarea update accept message to the wireless device 103.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment wherein the indication mentioned aboveis comprised in the forward relocation request message. As mentionedabove, the indication indicates whether there is a change in servingnetwork and/or time zone and/or UCI for the wireless device 103 that hasnot been reported to the SGW 105. In FIG. 6, the mobility managementnode is exemplified with a combined SGSN/MME, but the mobilitymanagement node may also be a S4-SGSN or an individual MME. Theinter-mobility management node-handover procedure exemplified in FIG. 6comprises the following steps, which steps may be performed in anysuitable order:

Step 601

A source RNC/eNB 130 s transmits a relocation required message to thesource SGSN/MME 101 s when the wireless device 103 has relocated fromthe source serving network 100 s to the target serving network 100 t.

Step 602

The source SGSN/MME 101 s transmits a forward relocation requiredmessage to the target SGSN/MME 101 t. The source SGSN/MME 101 scomprises the indication mentioned above in the relocation requiredmessage.

Step 603

The target SGSN/MME 101 t transmits a handover request to a targetRNC/eNB 130 t.

Step 604

The target RNC/eNB 130 t transmits a handover request acknowledgement tothe target SGSN/MME 101 t.

Step 605

The target SGSN/MME 101 t transmits a forward request response to thesource SGSN/MME 101 s.

Step 606

The handover of the wireless device 103 is executed.

Step 607

The target RNC/eNB 130 t transmits a handover notify message to thetarget SGSN/MME 101 t.

Step 608

The target SGSN/MME 101 t transmits a modify bearer request to the SGW105. The modify bearer request comprises information about at least oneof the serving network and time zone and/or UCI when the information haschanged and/or when the information (changed or not) has not beenpreviously reported.

Step 609

The SGW 105 forwards the modify bearer request to the PGW 108. Theforwarded modify bearer request comprises information about at least oneof the serving network and time zone and UCI.

Step 610

The PGW 108 transmits a modify bearer response to the SGW 105.

Step 611

The SGW 105 forwards the modify bearer response to the target SGSN/MME101 t.

Step 612

The old resources, i.e. the source RNC/eNB 130 s and the source SGSN/MME101 s, are released.

In another embodiment, the target mobility management node 101 t alwayscomprises at least one of the serving network and/or time zone and UCIIE in the modify bearer request message, instead of comparing thecurrent information about at least one of the serving network and timezone and UCI with the old serving network and/or time zone and/or UCIand be assisted by the indication. The SGW 105 will check at least oneof the serving network and time zone and UCI information received fromthe target mobility management node 101 t. Only when at least one of theserving network and time zone and UCI IE information changes, the SGW105 forwards at least one of the serving network and time zone and UCIinformation to the PGW 108. Thus, there will be no redundant signalingon the S5/S8 interface.

The method described above will now be described seen from theperspective of the mobility management node 100, 100 t. FIG. 7 is aflowchart describing the present method in the mobility management node100, 100 t, for handling information in a communications network 100. Asmentioned above the mobility management node 101, 101 t is associatedwith the wireless device 103 being served by the serving network 100,100 t. The mobility management node 101, 101 t may be a MME or a S4-SGSNor a combined SGSN/MME in the mobility scenario and it may be a S4-SGSNor a combined SGSN/MME in the non-mobility scenario.

The method comprises the following steps to be performed by the mobilitymanagement node 100, 100 t, which steps may be performed in any suitableorder:

Step 701

This step corresponds to steps 201 and 202 in FIG. 2. The mobilitymanagement node 100, 100 t obtains information about that at least oneof the serving network 100, 100 t and a time zone and the UCI has beenchanged for the wireless device 103, and information about that thechange has not been transmitted to the SGW 105 associated with themobility management node 101, 101 t.

Step 701 a

This step corresponds to step 503 in FIG. 5 and step 602 in FIG. 6. Step701 a is a substep of step 701. In some embodiments, e.g. in themobility scenario, the mobility management node 101, 101 t is a targetmobility management node 101 t associated with the wireless device 103and the wireless device 103 has previously been associated with a sourcemobility management node 101 s. The mobility management node 101 t mayreceive an indication from the source mobility management node 101 s.The indication indicates whether the information about the change hasbeen transmitted to the SGW 105 or not.

For example, in the mobility scenario, the indication may be received ina context response message when the wireless device 103 is in idle mode,and the indication may be received in a forward relocation requestmessage when the wireless device 103 is in active mode.

The indication may be an information element comprising bits. Each bitmay correspond to a status for at least one the serving network and timezone and UCI. The status indicates whether the information about thechange has been transmitted to the SGW 105 or not. The indication may beassociated with one PDN connection of the wireless device 103 orindividually associated with the wireless device 103. The indication maybe a change reported flag.

Step 701 b

This step is a substep of step 701, and a step that is performed insteadof step 701 a. In some embodiments, e.g. in a non-mobility scenario, themobility management node 101, 101 t detects that at least one of theserving network or time zone or UCI has been changed and that theinformation about the change has not been transmitted to the SGW 105.

Step 702

This step corresponds to step 203 in FIG. 2, step 311 and step 315 inFIG. 3, step 505 in FIG. 5 and step 608 in FIG. 6. When at least one ofthe serving network and the time zone and the UCI, has been changed forthe wireless device 103, and information about the change has not beentransmitted to the SGW 105, the mobility management node 100, 100 ttransmits the information about at least one of the changed servingnetwork and time zone and UCI, to the SGW 105, enabling the SGW 105 toforward this information to the PGW 108.

In some embodiments, e.g. in the mobility scenario, the informationabout the change is transmitted in a modify bearer request when theindication indicates that information about the change has not beentransmitted to the SGW 105.

In some embodiments, e.g. in a non-mobility scenario, the informationabout the change is transmitted to the SGW 105 in an update bearerresponse or a create bearer response or a delete bearer response whenthere is dedicated signaling triggered by the PGW 108.

In some embodiments, e.g. in a non-mobility scenario, the informationabout the change comprises information about at least one of the servingnetwork and UCI.

In some embodiments, e.g. in a non-mobility scenario, the communicationsnetwork 100 is based on UTRAN where a direct tunnel is not used in thecommunications network 100, or the communications network 100 is basedon GSM where a direct tunnel is not existing in the communicationsnetwork 100.

The information about at least one of the changed serving network andtime zone and UCI may be transmitted to the SGW 105 with least signalingmessages over a S11/S4 interface and a S5/S8 interface.

To perform the method steps shown in FIG. 7 for handling information ina communications network 100 the mobility management node 100, 100 tcomprises an arrangement as shown in FIG. 8. The mobility managementnode 101, 101 t is configured to be associated with a wireless device103 being served by a serving network 100, 100 t. In some embodiments,the mobility management node 101, 101 t is a target mobility managementnode 101 t associated with the wireless device 103 and the wirelessdevice 103 has previously been associated with a source mobilitymanagement node 101 s. In the mobility scenario, the mobility managementnode 101, 101 t may be a standalone MME or a S4-SGSN or a combinedSGSN/MME. In the non-mobility scenario, the mobility management node101, 101 t may be a S4-SGSN or a combined SGSN/MME. In some embodiments,the communications network 100 is based on UTRAN where a direct tunnelis not used in the communications network 100, or the communicationsnetwork 100 is based on GSM where a direct tunnel does not exist in thecommunications network 100.

The mobility management node 101, 101 t comprises an obtaining unit 801which is configured to obtain information about that at least one of theserving network 100, 100 t and a time zone and a UCI, has been changedfor the wireless device 103, and information about that the change hasnot been transmitted to the SGW 105 associated with the mobilitymanagement node 101, 101 t. In some embodiments, the obtaining unit 801is configured to detect, in the mobility management node 101, 101 t,that at least one of the serving network or time zone or UCI has beenchanged and that the information about the change has not beentransmitted to the SGW 105.

In some embodiments, e.g. in the mobility scenario, the obtaining unit801 is a receiver 801 a. The receiver 801 a is configured to receive anindication from the source mobility management node 101 s. Theindication may indicate whether the information about the change hasbeen transmitted to the SGW 105 or not. The receiver 801 a may beconfigured to receive the indication in a context response message whenthe wireless device 103 is in idle mode, and to receive the indicationin a forward relocation request message when the wireless device 103 isin active mode. The indication may be an information element comprisingbits. Each bit may correspond to a status for at least one the servingnetwork and time zone and UCI, and the status may indicate whether theinformation about the change has been transmitted to the SGW 105 or not.The indication may be associated with one PDN, connection of thewireless device 103 or individually associated with the wireless device103. The indication may be a change reported flag.

The mobility management node 101, 101 t comprises a transmitter 803which is configured to, when at least one of the serving network and thetime zone and the UCI has been changed for the wireless device 103 andwhen information about the change has not been transmitted to the SGW105, transmit the information about at least one of the changed servingnetwork and time zone and UCI, to the SGW 105, enabling the SGW 105 toforward this information to the PGW 108. The transmitter 803 may beconfigured to transmit the information about the change in a modifybearer request when the indication indicates that information about thechange has not been transmitted to the SGW 105. In some embodiments, thetransmitter 803 is configured to transmit the information about thechange to the SGW 105 in an update bearer response or a create bearerresponse or a delete bearer response when there is dedicated signalingtriggered by the PGW 108. In some embodiments, the information about thechange comprises information about at least one of the serving networkand the UCI. In some embodiments, the transmitter 803 is configured totransmit the information about at least one of the changed servingnetwork and time zone and UCI to the SGW 105 with least signalingmessages over a S11/S4 interface and a S5/S8 interface.

The present mechanism for handling information in a communicationsnetwork 100 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as aprocessor 805 in the mobility management node arrangement depicted inFIG. 8, together with computer program code for performing the functionsof the embodiments herein. The processor may be for example a DigitalSignal Processor (DSP), Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)processor, Field-programmable gate array (FPGA) processor ormicroprocessor. The program code mentioned above may also be provided asa computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carriercarrying computer program code for performing the embodiments hereinwhen being loaded into the mobility management node 101, 101 t and. Onesuch carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasiblewith other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer programcode may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server anddownloaded to the mobility management node 101, 101 t.

The mobility management node 100, 100 t may further comprise a memory808 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 808 is arranged tobe used to store data, received data streams, power level measurements,threshold values, time periods, configurations, schedulings, the changereported flag, information about at least one of the serving network andtime zone and UCI, information about idle and/or connected mode of thewireless device 103, information elements, messages and applications toperform the methods herein when being executed in the mobilitymanagement node 101, 101 t.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the obtaining unit801, the receiver 801 a and the transmitter 803 as described above mayrefer to a combination of analog and digital circuits, and/or one ormore processors configured with software and/or firmware, e.g. stored ina memory, that when executed by the one or more processors such as theprocessor 805 perform as described above.

Alternative embodiments of the mobility management node 100, 100 t maycomprise additional components beyond those shown in FIG. 8 that may beresponsible for providing certain aspects of the mobility managementnodes 100, 100 t functionality, comprising any of the functionalitydescribed above and/or any functionality necessary to support theembodiments described above.

The communications network 100 may further comprise any additionalelements suitable to support communication between communication networknodes. The illustrated communications network nodes may representcommunications network nodes that comprise any suitable combination ofhardware and/or software.

Summarized, the mobility management node 101, 101 t has the followinglogic:

-   -   When at least one of the serving network and time zone and UCI        has changed, transmit at least one of the current serving        network and current time zone and current UCI to the SGW 105.    -   When at least one of serving network and time zone and UCI has        not changed, but the indication indicates there is and pending        change which has not been reported yet, transmit at least one of        the current serving network and time zone and UCI to SGW 105.

For the non-mobility case, the embodiments herein are applicable to theS4-SGSN and the combined SGSN/MME. For the mobility case, theembodiments herein are applicable for the combined SGSN/MME, thestandalone MME and the S4-SGSN.

In some embodiments, the Change Reported Flag is comprised in thecontext response and/or forward relocation request messages. This is inorder correct an error case. In some embodiments, at least one of theserving network and time zone and/UCI is comprised in at least one ofthe create bearer response message and update bearer response messageand delete bearer response message when there is a change. This is inorder to optimize and to avoid S5/S8 signaling, e.g. MBR, to report thechange.

Some embodiments described above may be summarized in the followingmanner:

One embodiment is directed to a method in a mobility management node forhandling information in a communications network, wherein the mobilitymanagement node is associated with a wireless device being served by aserving network. The method comprises: obtaining information about thatat least one of the serving network or a time zone or a User Closedsubscriber group Information, UCI, has been changed for the wirelessdevice, and information about that the change has not been transmittedto a Serving GateWay, SGW associated with the mobility management node;and when at least one of the serving network and the time zone and theUCI, has been changed for the wireless device, and information about thechange has not been transmitted to the SGW, transmitting the informationabout at least one of the changed serving network and time zone and UCI,to the SGW, enabling the SGW to forward this information to a Packetdata network Gateway, PGW.

The method may be done as a reaction to or in response to receiving arequest message (e.g. a service request or a RAU update or a TAU updaterequest) from the wireless device or receiving a request message (e.g. arelocation request) from a source mobility management node in case thewireless device has previously been associated with a source mobilitymanagement node.

The mobility management node may be a target mobility management nodeassociated with the wireless device and the wireless device maypreviously have been associated with a source mobility management node;and the obtaining information may then further comprise: receiving anindication from the source mobility management node, which indicationindicates whether the information about the change has been transmittedto the SGW or not.

The indication may be received in a context response message when thewireless device is in idle mode, and wherein the indication is receivedin a forward relocation request message when the wireless device is inactive mode.

The information about the change may be transmitted in a modify bearerrequest when the indication indicates that information about the changehas not been transmitted to the SGW.

The indication may be an information element comprising bits, whereineach bit corresponds to a status for at least one the serving networkand time zone and UCI, which status indicates whether the informationabout the change has been transmitted to the SGW or not.

The indication may be associated with one Packet Data Network, PDN,connection of the wireless device or individually associated with thewireless device.

The indication may be a change reported flag.

The mobility management node may be a S4-Serving General packet radioservice Support Node, S4-SGSN or a Mobility Management Entity, MME, or acombined SGSN/MME.

The obtaining of information may further comprise: detecting, in themobility management node that at least one of the serving network ortime zone or UCI has been changed and that the information about thechange has not been transmitted to the SGW.

The information about the change may be transmitted to the SGW in anupdate bearer response or a create bearer response or a delete bearerresponse when there is dedicated signaling triggered by the PGW.

The information about the change may comprise information about at leastone of the serving network and UCI.

The mobility management node may be a S4-Serving General packet radioservice Support Node, S4-SGSN or a combined SGSN/Mobility ManagementEntity, SGSN/MME.

The communications network may be based on Universal Terrestrial RadioAccess Network, UTRAN where a direct tunnel is not used in thecommunications network, or the communications network may be based onGlobal System for Mobile Communications, GSM where a direct tunnel isnot existing in the communications network.

The information about at least one of the changed serving network andtime zone and UCI is transmitted to the SGW with least signalingmessages over a S11/S4 interface and a S5/S8 interface.

Some other embodiments described above may be summarized in thefollowing manner:

One embodiment may be directed to a mobility management node forhandling information in a communications network, wherein the mobilitymanagement node is configured to be associated with a wireless devicebeing served by a serving network. The mobility management nodecomprises: an obtaining unit configured to obtain information about thatat least one of the serving network or a time zone or a User Closedsubscriber group Information, UCI, has been changed for the wirelessdevice, and information about that the change has not been transmittedto a Serving GateWay, SGW associated with the mobility management node;and a transmitter configured to, when at least one of the servingnetwork and the time zone and the UCI has been changed for the wirelessdevice, and information about the change has not been transmitted to theSGW, transmit the information about at least one of the changed servingnetwork and time zone and UCI, to the SGW, enabling the SGW to forwardthis information to a Packet data network Gateway, PGW.

The obtaining unit may be configured to obtain the information as areaction to or in response to receiving a request message from thewireless device or from a source mobility management node in case thewireless device has previously been associated with a source mobilitymanagement node.

The mobility management node may be a target mobility management nodeassociated with the wireless device and the wireless device maypreviously have been associated with a source mobility management node;and wherein the obtaining unit is a receiver, which receiver isconfigured to receive an indication from the source mobility managementnode, which indication indicates whether the information about thechange has been transmitted to the SGW or not.

The receiver may be configured to receive the indication in a contextresponse message when the wireless device is in idle mode, and toreceive the indication in a forward relocation request message when thewireless device is in active mode.

The transmitter may be configured to transmit the information about thechange in a modify bearer request when the indication indicates thatinformation about the change has not been transmitted to the SGW.

The indication may be an information element comprising bits, whereineach bit corresponds to a status for at least one the serving networkand time zone and UCI, which status indicates whether the informationabout the change has been transmitted to the SGW or not.

The indication may be associated with one Packet Data Network, PDN,connection of the wireless device or individually associated with thewireless device.

The indication may be a change reported flag.

The mobility management node may be a S4-Serving General packet radioservice Support Node, S4-SGSN or a Mobility Management Entity, MME or acombined SGSN/MME.

The obtaining unit is configured to detect, in the mobility managementnode that at least one of the serving network or time zone or UCI hasbeen changed and that the information about the change has not beentransmitted to the SGW.

The transmitter may be configured to transmit the information about thechange to the SGW in an update bearer response or a create bearerresponse or a delete bearer response when there is dedicated signalingtriggered by the PGW.

The information about the change comprises information about at leastone of the serving network and the UCI.

The mobility management node may be a S4-Serving General packet radioservice Support Node, S4-SGSN or a combined SGSN/Mobility ManagementEntity, SGSN/MME.

The communications network may be based on Universal Terrestrial RadioAccess Network, UTRAN where a direct tunnel is not used in thecommunications network, or the communications network may be based onGlobal System for Mobile Communications, GSM where a direct tunnel isnot existing in the communications network.

The transmitter may be configured to transmit the information about atleast one of the changed serving network and time zone and UCI to theSGW with least signaling messages over a S11/S4 interface and a S5/S8interface.

The embodiments described herein are not limited to the above describedembodiments. Various alternatives, modifications and equivalents may beused. Therefore, the above embodiments should not be taken as limitingthe scope of the embodiments, which is defined by the appending claims.

It should be emphasized that the term “comprises/comprising” when usedin this specification is taken to specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps or components, but does not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,components or groups thereof. It should also be noted that the words “a”or “an” preceding an element do not exclude the presence of a pluralityof such elements.

It should also be emphasized that the steps of the methods defined inthe appended claims may, without departing from the embodiments herein,be performed in another order than the order in which they appear in theclaims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method in a target mobility management node for handling information in a communications network, wherein the target mobility management node is associated with a wireless device being served by a serving network and wherein the wireless device has previously been associated with a source mobility management node, the method comprising: obtaining first information for the wireless device that at least one of: the serving network, a time zone, and a User Closed subscriber group Information (UCI) has been changed for the wireless device, and information that the change has not been transmitted to a Serving GateWay (SGW) associated with the target mobility management node; and when at least one of the serving network and the time zone and the UCI, has been changed for the wireless device, and information about the change has not been transmitted to the SGW, transmitting the information about at least one of the changed serving network, time zone, and UCI to the SGW, thereby enabling the SGW to forward this information to a Packet data network Gateway (PGW).
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the obtaining is performed in response to receiving a request message from the wireless device or from a source mobility management node in case the wireless device has previously been associated with a source mobility management node.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mobility management node is a target mobility management node associated with the wireless device and wherein the wireless device has previously been associated with a source mobility management node; and wherein the obtaining information further comprises: receiving an indication from the source mobility management node indicating whether the information about the change has been transmitted to the SGW or not.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the indication is received in a context response message when the wireless device is in idle mode, and wherein the indication is received in a forward relocation request message when the wireless device is in active mode.
 5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the information about the change is transmitted in a modify bearer request when the indication indicates that information about the change has not been transmitted to the SGW.
 6. The method according to claim 3, wherein the indication is an information element comprising bits, wherein each bit corresponds to a status for at least one of the serving network and time zone and UCI, which status indicates whether the information about the change has been transmitted to the SGW or not.
 7. The method according to claim 3, wherein the indication is associated with one Packet Data Network, PDN, connection of the wireless device or individually associated with the wireless device.
 8. The method according to claim 3, wherein the indication is a change reported flag.
 9. The method according to claim 3, wherein the mobility management node is a S4-Serving General packet radio service Support Node, S4-SGSN or a Mobility Management Entity (MME) or a combined SGSN/MME.
 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the obtaining information further comprises: detecting, in the mobility management node, that at least one of the serving network or time zone or UCI has been changed and that the information about the change has not been transmitted to the SGW.
 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the information about the change is transmitted to the SGW in an update bearer response or a create bearer response or a delete bearer response when there is dedicated signaling triggered by the PGW.
 12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the information about the change comprises information about at least one of the serving network and UCI.
 13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the mobility management node is a S4-Serving General packet radio service Support Node, S4-SGSN or a combined SGSN/Mobility Management Entity, SGSN/MME.
 14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the communications network is based on Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network, UTRAN, where a direct tunnel is not used in the communications network, or wherein the communications network is based on Global System for Mobile Communications, GSM, where a direct tunnel is not existing in the communications network.
 15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information about at least one of the changed serving network and time zone and UCI is transmitted to the SGW with least signaling messages over a S11/S4 interface and a S5/S8 interface.
 16. A target mobility management node for handling information in a communications network, wherein the target mobility management node is configured to be associated with a wireless device being served by a serving network and wherein the wireless device has previously been associated with a source mobility management node, the target mobility management node comprising: an obtaining unit configured to obtain information about that at least one of: the serving network, a time zone, and User Closed subscriber group Information (UCI) has been changed for the wireless device, and information about that the change has not been transmitted to a Serving GateWay (SGW) associated with the target mobility management node; a transmitter configured to, when at least one of the serving network, the time zone, and the UCI has been changed for the wireless device, and information about the change has not been transmitted to the SGW, transmit the information about at least one of the changed serving network, time zone, and UCI to the SGW, enabling the SGW to forward this information to a Packet data network Gateway (PGW).
 17. The target mobility management node according to claim 16, wherein the obtaining unit is further configured to obtain information in response to receiving a request message from the wireless device or from a source mobility management node in case the wireless device has previously been associated with a source mobility management node.
 18. The target mobility management node according to claim 16, wherein the target mobility management node is associated with the wireless device and wherein the wireless device has previously been associated with a source mobility management node; and wherein the obtaining unit is further configured to: receive an indication from the source mobility management node indicating whether the information about the change has been transmitted to the SGW or not.
 19. The target mobility management node according to claim 18, wherein the indication is received in a context response message when the wireless device is in idle mode, and wherein the indication is received in a forward relocation request message when the wireless device is in active mode.
 20. The target mobility management node according to claim 18, wherein the information about the change is transmitted in a modify bearer request when the indication indicates that information about the change has not been transmitted to the SGW.
 21. The target mobility management node according to claim 18, wherein the indication is an information element comprising bits, wherein each bit corresponds to a status for at least one of the serving network and time zone and UCI, which status indicates whether the information about the change has been transmitted to the SGW or not.
 22. The target mobility management node according to claim 18, wherein the indication is associated with one Packet Data Network, PDN, connection of the wireless device or individually associated with the wireless device.
 23. The target mobility management node according to claim 18, wherein the indication is a change reported flag.
 24. The target mobility management node according to claim 18, wherein the mobility management node is a S4-Serving General packet radio service Support Node, S4-SGSN or a Mobility Management Entity (MME) or a combined SGSN/MME.
 25. The target mobility management node according to claim 16, wherein the obtaining information further comprises: detecting, in the mobility management node, that at least one of the serving network or time zone or UCI has been changed and that the information about the change has not been transmitted to the SGW.
 26. The target mobility management node according to claim 25, wherein the information about the change is transmitted to the SGW in an update bearer response or a create bearer response or a delete bearer response when there is dedicated signaling triggered by the PGW.
 27. The target mobility management node according to claim 25, wherein the information about the change comprises information about at least one of the serving network and UCI.
 28. The target mobility management node according to claim 25, wherein the mobility management node is a S4-Serving General packet radio service Support Node, S4-SGSN or a combined SGSN/Mobility Management Entity, SGSN/MME.
 29. The target mobility management node according to claim 25, wherein the communications network is based on Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network, UTRAN, where a direct tunnel is not used in the communications network, or wherein the communications network is based on Global System for Mobile Communications, GSM, where a direct tunnel is not existing in the communications network.
 30. The target mobility management node according claim 25, wherein the information about at least one of the changed serving network and time zone and UCI is transmitted to the SGW with least signaling messages over a S11/S4 interface and a S5/S8 interface.
 31. A method in a mobility management node for handling information in a communications network, wherein the mobility management node is associated with a wireless device being served by a serving network, the method comprising: obtaining first information for the wireless device, the first information indicating that at least one of: the serving network, a time zone, and a User Closed subscriber group Information (UCI) has been changed for the wireless device; obtaining second information, the second information indicating that information about the change for the wireless device has not been transmitted to a Serving GateWay (SGW) associated with the mobility management node; and after determining that information about the change as not been transmitted to the SGW, transmitting information about the change to the SGW, thereby enabling the SGW to forward the information about the change to a Packet data network Gateway (PGW). 